Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing

In the digital age, mobile phones have become seemingly ubiquitous in the United States. In fact, according to statistics from the Pew Research Center, 97% of Americans own a cellphone of some sort. And as of 2023, the share of Americans who own a smartphone stood at 90% — marking a huge leap from the 35% more than a decade prior in 2011.

Based on everyday observations alone, most of us can likely agree that our smartphones have also become huge parts of our everyday routines, our lives and our work. But just how huge? Consider these staggering smartphone-related facts from Bankmycell.com:

• The average smartphone user checks his or her device 63 times a day — that’s nearly 23,000 times a year!
• The average American spends 4 hours per day on his or her phone and/or tablet.
• Further, according to a Statista forecast, the number of mobile internet users in the U.S. is expected to hit nearly 350.5 million by 2029, with this figure having seen steady increases each year over the course of the 2020s.

As these stats make clear, mobile isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So in order to stay ahead of the competition, brands must keep optimizing their marketing strategy for mobile users to ensure that they connect with their audience members and stay connected with them. Read on for some insights on the advantages of mobile marketing, as well as the disadvantages of mobile marketing/advertising. Hopefully, these will help you ensure that your views on marketing and mobile technology are up to date.

Advantages of Mobile Marketing

Easy access

Let’s face it — our phones are by our sides most of the day. Further, the average user spends nearly 2.5 hours per day on social media platforms. And nearly 90% of smartphone users check their devices within an hour of waking up or going to sleep — with nearly 70% saying they check their devices within 5 minutes of waking up in the morning. All of these are reasons why you should focus on mobile marketing. The accessibility of phones helps ensure that your ads/campaigns can be easily seen by users, including your ideal audience.

Location and personalization

With mobile marketing, you can reach people at any place, at any time — at work, at home or even on vacations. (We don’t usually encourage this last one.) And by using location-based marketing, a lot of information can be gathered about user preferences, all because of their phones. This helps with ad personalization — targeted advertising that can be adjusted to speak directly to one person, based on things like purchase history and location.

Numerous channels

The avenues for reaching consumers are plentiful with mobile marketing, with the array of available options including text messages, websites, mobile apps, social platforms and more. This can provide powerful flexibility and opportunity for marketers making plans for campaigns that will reach their target audiences wherever they may spend most of their time online.

Viral potential

Let’s admit it — we like to share things with our families and friends, especially if the ad or content is interesting or has other value. Mobile marketing enhances the potential for things to “go viral.” And if your content or ad does, you will get a lot more exposure with no extra effort or cost.

Immediate reach

Need to spread the news about an ongoing sale, a time-sensitive offer or otherwise share up-to-the-minute information with your brand’s customers and/or target audience? Mobile marketing’s potential for immediacy can greatly shorten the timelines needed for getting the word out when compared with traditional forms of advertising, and it can typically even facilitate a two-way street that enables consumers to respond/reply to brand communications right away, too.

Instant transactions

Mobile is your friend if you are an impulse buyer — and subsequently, of course, if you’re a seller. Think of it like being in line at your local favorite retail store: Items are there to grab your attention while waiting, and for the seller, they could hopefully lead to an added impulse purchase. Mobile advertising does the same thing. We all use our smartphones as a form of entertainment, and boredom can create interest in something new. And as a seller with online offerings, you are able to fill a consumer need.

Cost effectiveness

This is probably one of the most important advantages of mobile marketing, and there are a couple of ways to look at it. Because the screen size of mobile devices is smaller than a desktop or laptop, the available area for ads is limited, and the needed content is much smaller in size and cost, as well. To that end, the cost of mobile advertising is much less when compared to something like radio or TV advertising. Targeting is a big contributor to this, as well. You can focus on targeted advertising to reach customers who want and need to see your ad(s). And if it’s not working, you can save money by just stopping your campaign.

Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing

Little room for errors up front

First impressions are everything. If your ads give viewers a negative first impression, unfortunately, that is the one that will matter most. So be sure to make your ad or content error-free. It’s very hard to fix a mistake before it’s seen, as mobile advertising is very fast in nature.

Potential for bad user experiences

This piggybacks the first disadvantage. You know how we said above to let it “go viral”? Well, bad ads or content can go viral just as easily as good ones can. Review your ad or content carefully, perhaps even have multiple people review it — and try to make sure that your ad will not be received in a bad way.

Possible navigation issues

Consider this when designing mobile ads: About 90% of mobile phones owned in the U.S. are smartphones, which means that around 10% of consumers are using standard cellphones. While the user might be interested in your ad, some might not be able to access it.

Privacy/permission concerns

Privacy and permission concerns among consumers can serve to undermine trust and the user experience in mobile marketing. With the increasing focus on data-protection regulations such as those seen in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), consumers are becoming more aware of their rights regarding personal information. Intrusive or unsolicited mobile marketing messages can lead to negative perceptions of brands, resulting in reduced engagement and potential legal consequences for non-compliance. Balancing the need for personalized marketing with respect for user privacy is critical in building lasting customer relationships and maintaining brand integrity in the mobile sphere — as well as in ensuring compliance with the law.

User costs

This is one disadvantage that shouldn’t be overlooked. Although we see advertisements about unlimited data, that doesn’t mean that everyone has an unlimited plan. Standard data and texting charges may apply to some of those seeing your ads, so be mindful of that.

There really is no ignoring the rise of mobile marketing, as the advantages mentioned above would indicate. Mobile marketing is a necessity for a growing brand, especially considering that people are spending more and more time on their mobile devices. So if you haven’t already optimized your website for mobile or thought about how your online marketing strategy should account for people using smartphones, contact us today.

Sources: Pew Research Center, Bankmycell.com, Statista, Datareportal, Tasil, Consumer Affairs, Brandon Gaille, Learn Blogger